Golf game with upstanding cups



Sept. 2, 1969 M. L. NELSON GOLF GAME WITH UPSTANDING CUPS Filed Feb. 6.1968 fi ag li 747 912! Martin L. Nelson IN VIEN'I'OR.

United States Patent 3,464,704 GOLF GAME WITH UPSTANDING CUPS Martin L.Nelson, 4206 McKinley St., Hollywood, Fla. 33021 Filed Feb. 6, 1968,Ser. No. 703,359 Int. Cl. A63b 67/02, 57/00, 69/36 US. Cl. 273-176ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated urethane foam mat has openingsat each end thereof. Cups having a ball inlet slot in their side wallsare rotatably retained in the mat openings so that the position of theball entry slot may be varied relative to a golfer putting on saidsurface, in order to vary the difiiculty of putting a golf ball into acup. A small protective panel including a dimple for supporting a golfball is positionable on the foam mat to form a tee area. Rebound blockshaving ground penetrable anchoring prongs are positionable along theside edges of the foam mat. Anchoring pins are provided for securingboth the cups and mats to a ground surface. The mat is lightweight andmay be rolled up when not in use.

This invention relates to convertible indoor and outdoor equipment whichlends itself to enthusiastic use by participants who enjoy competitivegames and who are fascinated, as are many, when using conventional-typegolf balls and putters, and pertains, more particularly to simple andeasy-to-use equipment which qualifies for their needs whether playing ona fioor indoors or outdoors on a grassy lawn or any feasible playingsurface.

To comprehend the nature of the inventive concept it can be pointed outat the inception that a primary component has to do with a golf matwhich is unique in that it serves its significant purpose, namely,putting practice and developing the skills necessary for directionalflow and control of the ball and simultaneously engendering the pleasantstimulus attending competitive play. Then, too, the precise and aptlysuited mat which is employed solves the problem of coping with the typeof grass and irregular surfacing which, in the past, has been the chiefdeterrent to playing golf games on home lawns. By adopting and usingspecially made upstanding cups, players do not have to tediously contendwith overrunning, rebounding (common to shallow cups) or skirting thelip or rim of the cup.

As will be hereinafter noted and appreciated the elongated panel, alsoreferred to as a mat measures 24 feet in length, 2 /2 feet in width and/2 inch in thickness. The mat is preferably, but not necessarily, madefrom urethane foam which provides the desired flexible, compressiblyresilient and other attending features and which affords the capabilityof the underneath or bottom side clinging either to a floor or to a lawnsurface, thus causing the mat to adhere to most underlying surfaces atopwhich it is used. In addition the material of the mat provides adesirable drag on the golf ball which is similar, in a manner ofspeaking, to that which is encountered when putting a ball on an actualgreen. Then, too, the mat thus constructed lends itself to being spreadout lengthwise, or rolled up into a compact and convenient bundle forstorage.

Briefly, the above named mat lends itself to acceptable use particularlyas a game playing mat for practice putting with a golf ball and forother selected skill requiring games and playing needs. Means isprovided along the respective longitudinal edges of the panel to assistthe user in pinning or staking the panel in a given place when used on alawn or other compact soil area. The panel is pro- 9 Claims 3,464,704Patented Sept. 2, 1969 KIC vided at both ends with one or more cutthrough holes. An insertable and removable golf ball cup is used in eachhole. To the ends desired the cup is preferably about 5 inches inheight, 3 /2 inches in diameter and has a centrally apertured bottomproviding a holddown pin hole. The cup is an innovation in that it isprovided in one vertical side with a ball inlet opening or slot. Thisslot opens at its upper end through the corresponding upper end of themouth of the cup. On the other hand it has its lower end closed andterminating a short distance above the plane of the bottom. The bottomof the cup has a central pin hole. An insertable and removableespecially constructed staking pin is employed. The pin is passed downthrough the hole in the bottom of the cup, and then forced and anchoredin the ground. The upper end of the pin has a loop or eye which servesas a limit stop or shoulder and abuts the bottom and assists in holdingthe cup in place.

The structure also includes plastic reinforcing strips for anchoring thelongitudinal edge portion of the mat when used outdoors. Each player maybe provided with a sheet plastic tee. The tee has a central dimple toreceive and initially position the golf ball. The tee is placed whereverdesired and depending on the game which is being played. In addition,the game contemplates the use of elongated wooden or equivalent bankingblocks which are arranged wherever desired along the lengthwise edgesand either fastened to the ground or, if playing on surfaces other thanturf or compact soil, placed atop the mat and thus associated with oneor more cups for deflecting and richocheting the ball when playing lawnpool or cushiontype billiards.

It should be pointed out at this stage that the equipment herein shownand described lends itself to indoor and outdoor use for puttingpractice, for playing games identified as lawn pool, bank pool, lawnbilliards and cushion billiards and for many other games wherein golfballs and putters are capable of practical use. It will simplify thepresentation here however to think of the game as primarily for puttingpractice use in the manner suggested in FIG. 1. The description will bepresented accordingly.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective showing the spreadable and rollable elongatedpanel or golfing mat stretched out on an outdoor lawn or equivalentsurface and further showing several cups at the right hand end,intervening banking blocks for optional use, the plastic tee andsuggesting how the player achieves the result desired.

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation on a suitable enlarged scale of oneof the banking blocks.

FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective of the sheet plastic tee.

FIGURE 4 is a view in perspective on an enlarged scale detailing one ofthe cups.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view taken on the plane ofthe section line 5-5 of FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the views of the drawing the numeral 8 designates theelongated urethane foam panel also designated as a golf mat. In actualpractice this panel is 24 feet long, 2- /2 feet wide and /2 inch inthickness. The planar top or upper surface is denoted at 10 and theunderneath correspondingly flat or planar surface is denoted at 12. Eachsubstantially rectangular end portion is the same in construction andthe one at the left in FIG. 1 is denoted by the numeral 14 and isfurnished at the terminal end with a suitable reinforcing strip 16provided with holes at intervals by which means the panel may beretentively fastened to the earth by headed pins or fasteners 17.Although a single hole can be provided it is preferred that several suchholes be provided. The centermost hole is denoted by the numeral 18 andis centrally located and spaced to the right of the terminal end portion16. There are two similar holes 20 and 22 and each hole is substantiallyfour inches in diameter. These holes are provided to receive and holdthe attachable and detachable golf ball trapping cups. All of the cupsare the same in construction and are interchangeable and a descriptionof one will suffice for all. Each cup is denoted by the numeral 24.

Each cup 24 is made of suitable moldable plastic material preferably Aof an inch thick. The cup is inches in height and 3 /2 inches indiameter and has a body portion 26, a disk-like flat bottom portion 28having a pin accommodating hole 30 therein. The upper open mouth portionof the cup is denoted at 32. The slot (also referred to as an openingand in addition as a ball clearance notch) is denoted by the numeral 34.It opens through the upper end and has its lower end terminating shortof the bottom as at 36. The anchoring and holddown pin which is capableof use is denoted by the numeral 38 and is constructed in the mannershown in FIG. 4 and has a lateral ring-like head or limit stop shoulder40. This pin can be forced down through the hole and into the groundwith the ring or head of the pin serving as a retainer in the mannerillustrated in FIG. 4. These pins are used when the device is employedoutdoors atop a lawn or the like. Indoors the blocks may or may not beused to maintain the cups in place, depending upon the game played. Ifused, the cups are held firmly in position by placing the blocks (in aninverted position) behind the cups. For certain of the games, inparticular where the ball is ricocheted from the blocks, the diminishedspeed of the ball will eliminate the necessity of using the blocks tosupport the cups.

The aforementioned ball seating tee is denoted by the numeral 42. Itcomprises a rectangular sheet of suitable plastic material 44 which canbe moved about and shifted from place to place on the top surface 10.This plastic normally clings to the surface of the mat and it is pro-Vided with a depression or dimple as at 46 to seat the golf ball 48. Thenumeral 50 designates a conventional putter which is employed in themanner suggested in FIG. 1.

It is within the purview of the invention to employ reinforcing andholddown plastic strips or tapes such as denoted at 52. These tapes areadhesively mounted along the longitudinal edges 54 at suitably spacedpoints and each tape has an opening therein to accommodate the headedend of a holddown pin. One such pin is shown at 56 in FIG. 5 and has alateral retaining head 58 at the upper end. Any number of strips andpins can be employed to assist in tautening and retaining the mat inplace when used outdoors.

It is also within the purview of the invention to employ ball bankingand deflecting blocks. These blocks are also referred to as cushions.Each block or cushion is the same in construction and one is denoted bythe numeral 60 in FIG. 2. It has flat vertical faces 62, rounded ends64, straight upper and lower parallel edges 66 and depending anchoringprongs 68 having pointed ends 70 which can be pressed and sunk in theturf as suggested in phantom lines in FIG. 1.

This invention is expressly, but not necessarily adapted for puttingpractice and, in addition, as a combination of outdoor games suitablefor play on most lawns or other grassy or compact soil or other areas.Other features include convertibility to indoor use as explained below.The mat is made of urethane foam which affords considerable cling thuscausing it to adhere to most underlying surfaces. In addition itprovides enough drag on the ball to approximate the feel of an actualputting green. Numbers at one side can be provided to show the measureddistance in linear feet from each end. For outdoor use the mat is at itsbest on turf, particularly after the grass has been cut and is set up bymerely unrolling it on the ground after which it maybe gently pulledtaut enough to compensate for surface irregularities. However, it may beused to good advantage on any grassy or compact soil area and may beused in the same manner as indoors on paved areas, such as asphalt orconcrete. Because of its lightweight the mat may lift from the ground ifthe weather is breezy for which reason it has been provided along eachedge with 2 inch plastic strips placed at 4 feet intervals. A hole hasbeen provided in each of these and in the event that a breeze is blowinginsert one of the pins furnished into each of the holes in the strips atboth ends of the mat and force these into the ground with enough handpressure to fasten the mat to the ground. If the air currents are strongthe pins may be used to fasten down both of the sides as well in thesame manner. Enough care should be taken not to force the pins beyondthe cushioning effect of the urethane foam. To do so might causedifiiculty when these are removed and may tear the foam. In order toavoid injury to the mat from continued impact of a putter small plasticstroke mats, with a dimpled area in the center to serve as a tee, arefurnished.

As before stated the equipment herein shown and described lends itselfto use in many and varied ways. It is believed, however, that it willsimplify an understanding of the subject matter of the invention tostress the component parts, namely, the golf mat, the single andmultiple holes at the left and right ends for reception and retention ofthe slotted cups 24, the selectively placeable teeing auxiliary mats 42and the optionally usable ball banking and ricocheting blocks 60. A moredetailed description of the invention is deemed to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For game playing use indoors or outdoors and wherein the participantsuse regular golf balls and conventionaltype putters, a portable devicecomprising an elongated panel of flexible rollable lightweight materialhaving an upper surface providing a ball seating, putting and guidingmat, said panel being provided with at at least one terminal end portionat least one hole, and a golf ball trapping and pocketing cup, said cuphaving a bottom thereof inserted retained in said hole and a bodyportion rising to a position above the plane of said upper surface andhaving a ball aiming and inlet opening in a predetermined side whichpermits the entry of a properly aimed golf ball putted along saidsurface, the bottom of said cup cooperating with said hole in a mannersuch that said cup is adjustably turnable and can be rotated in saidhole in a manner to adjust said inlet opening toward a plurality ofdifferent positions to the right or left respectively, of thelongitudinal axis of the panel, whereby to thus station the cup is amanner to increase the difficulty of putting a particular golf ball shotinto said cup.

2. The device defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein saidpanel is made of compressibly resilient flexible material and is capableof being spread out flatwise on a floor or, alternatively, laid atop alawn or the like in a manner to conform with, compensate for and copewith surface irregularities and deficiencies, and also light in weightand of a size that it can be rolled up and stored when not in use.

3. The device defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein saidpanel is made of urethane foam, is 24 feet long, 2 /2 feet wide and /2inch thick, and is accordingly compressibly resilient and flexible andis capableof being spread out fiatwise on a floor or, alternatively laidatop a lawn or the like in a manner to conform with, compensate for andcope with surface irregularities and deficiencies, and also light inweight and of a size that it can be rolled up and stored when not inuse.

4. The device defined in and according to claim 1, and in combination, arelatively small sheet-material stroke mat separate from said panel anddesigned and adapted to be placed by hand atop any selected area of saidupper surface and having a central dimpled portion, constituting a tee,and also serving as a protective shield capable of minimizing wear ofsaid upper surface.

5. The device defined in and according to claim 4, and, in combination,a plurality of reinforcing and holddown plastic strips aflixed atop saidupper surface and arranged along the longitudinal marginal edges of saidpanel and spaced apart and having holes adapted to receive anchoringpins when needed to stake down the over-all panel when the outdoorweather is breezy and likely to interfere with the stay-put location ofsaid panel.

6. The device defined in and according to claim 1, and, in combination,at least one golf ball banking and deflecting block cooperable with aselected edge portion of the panel, said block being readily applicableand removable and of a height that it presents a ball impacting andricocheting surface in a plane slightly above the plane of said uppersurface, said block having a bottom provided with block positioning andtemporary retaining prongs.

7. The device defined in and according to claim 6, and wherein thebottom of said cup is fiat and provided centrally with a hole, and aninsertable and removable cup holddown and stacking pin passingdownwardly through said hole for anchorage in the ground, said pinhaving an upper end provided with a finger-grip, and said finger-gripproviding a cup-bottom abutting head.

8. A golf game device comprising an elongated com pressibly resilientflexible panel capable of being rolled up to compact storing form orspread out l'latwise to a usable position, said panel being adapted toserve as a game playing mat for putting a golf ball and for otherselected skill game playing needs, means along the longitudinal edges ofsaid panel to assist a user in staking the panel in a given place atop alawn or an equivalent surface, said panel being provided with at atleast one transverse end portion including several cup locating andretaining holes, and an insertable and removable golf ball sinking cupfor each hole, each cup being 5 inches in height, 3 /2 inches indiameter, having a centrally apertured bottom providing a holddown pinhole, and being provided in one vertical side with a vertical ball inletslot, said slot opening at an upper end through the open upper end ofsaid cup and having its lower end closed and terminating a shortdistance above the plane of said bottom.

9. The combination defined in and according to claim 8, and aninsertable and removable cup holddown and temporary staking pin passingdownwardly through said hole for anchorage in the ground, said pinhaving an upper end provided with a finger-grip and said finger-gripproviding a cup-bottom abutting head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 830,535 9/1906 Singleton et a1.1,566,057 12/1925 Wilkinson. 2,144,439 1/1939 Duffy 273-178 X 3,342,4959/1967 Wasley -i 273179 X 3,356,370 12/1967 Larsen 273-127 X FOREIGNPATENTS 9,320 1892 Great Britain.

GEORGE J. MARLO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 273 180, 127, I

